logo
Trump's narrative shift

Trump's narrative shift

Politico31-01-2025
Presented by
With help from Eli Okun, Garrett Ross and Bethany Irvine
Happy Friday. This is Zack Stanton. Thanks for waking up with Playbook. Get in touch: zstanton@politico.com.
FIRST IN PLAYBOOK: Chris LaCivita, the co-manager of President Donald Trump's 2024 campaign, is joining Reince Priebus at Michael Best Strategies, where he'll provide strategic counsel to clients and manage relationships with the new Trump administration. LaCivita joins the bipartisan team Priebus has assembled, which also includes former Sen. Cory Gardner (R-Colo.), former Rep. Steve Israel (D-N.Y.) and senior alums of the offices of Speakers Mike Johnson and Kevin McCarthy. Read the press release
DRIVING THE DAY
TRUMP'S NARRATIVE SHIFT: In some ways, it's a fairly normal day at the White House: press secretary Karoline Leavitt will hold a briefing at 1 p.m., President Donald Trump will sign a new tranche of executive orders at 3 p.m. and then at 5 p.m., he'll head to Mar-a-Lago, where he's due to arrive at 7:50 p.m.
But it's abnormal in this way: For the second week in a row, Trump's Friday centers on a disaster. Last Friday, his tours of Hurricane Helene-ravaged North Carolina and the wildfire-scarred hills of southern California occupied the capital's attention. Today, it's the deadly crash at DCA that grips the national conversation — and it's almost certain to be the story that carries us through the weekend and becomes the A-block on the Sunday shows. (Required reading: Oriana Pawlyk has a great piece on the years of warnings that preceded the crash.)
Politically, there's at least one critical difference: The prevailing sense at the end of week one was that Trump 2.0 was altogether more polished and professional than Trump 1.0. This time around, so the thinking went, the administration would be able to execute on its goals with strategic precision — an impression bolstered by the blitz of well-prepared executive actions that defined his initial days back on the job.
At the end of week two, though, things appear a bit different: Trump 2.0 suddenly looks less like a break from the occasional half-cocked chaos of Trump 1.0 than simply its more grown-up sequel. Rather than an altogether different administration, it seems to have some of the same flaws of Trump's first go-around.
A big part of the reason for that is the president's handling of the tragedy at Washington Reagan National Airport, which offers a striking contrast to his behavior last Friday in California.
Week one: Trump toured wildfire damage in California and visited burned-out homes. It was presidential.
Week two: Asked by reporters whether he would visit the collision site where 67 people died on the Potomac River, Trump responded: 'What's the site? The water? You want me to go swimming?'
Week one: Trump literally embraced California Gov. Gavin Newsom, his longtime political foe, and, as Christopher Cadelago and Melanie Mason wrote, 'refrained from his sharp-edged digs and instead pledged to help lead in the recovery effort.'
Week two: Trump foisted blame for the DCA crash onto Presidents Joe Biden and Barack Obama, former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg ('He's just got a good line of bullshit,' Trump said at his presser) and DEI policies.
Put succinctly: 'In the wake of this week's midair collision near Washington, Mr. Trump was more than happy to jump to conclusions and pull the country apart rather than together,' NYT's Peter Baker writes this morning.
A quick reality check: The initial FAA report says that air traffic control staffing responsibilities at Reagan were 'not normal' and that one person was doing two jobs, NYT's Sydney Ember and Emily Steel report. … ABC News notes there isn't any affirmative action in the hiring of air traffic controllers. … The disability hiring policies that Trump criticized were actually maintained and used by his own first administration, WaPo's Glenn Kessler writes. … The executive action Trump signed yesterday to unwind diversity programs at the Department of Transportation and the FAA came even though, as Bloomberg's Akayla Gardner reports, there is 'no evidence that diversity initiatives led to the crash, nor is there evidence that such practices result in poor operational outcomes.'
It wasn't just his handling of the tragedy at DCA that marked the change. The other big story this week, Trump-wise, was the brouhaha over the now-blocked federal spending freeze. It lacked White House vetting. It galvanized Democratic opposition. It caused the Trump administration to walk it back — and then walk back the walkback. It amounts to a quick shift for the White House 'from inaugural euphoria to the realities of governing,' WSJ's Natalie Andrews and Meridith McGraw write this morning.
What comes next: Even so, the Trump team is gearing up for a major court fight over whether it can ignore Congress' power of the purse, Megan Messerly, Rachael Bade and Eli Stokols report this morning. 'While legal experts believe the administration's argument won't hold up, [OMB Director-designate Russ] Vought and others appear eager for a confrontation on the matter in court.'
And the stakes are high: Ultimately, the Supreme Court's conservative supermajority has 'the potential to shift the balance of power laid out in Article I of the Constitution,' WaPo's Tony Romm and Jeff Stein add.
The big picture, legally: The president is testing the extent of his power. On this week's episode of 'Playbook Deep Dive,' our own Eugene Daniels sat down with Capitol Hill bureau chief and senior Washington columnist Rachael Bade and senior staff writer and legal columnist Ankush Khardori to discuss why, where the pushback is and what to expect next. Listen to their conversation on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.
The big picture, politically: After week one, the Trump administration seemed a bit like a Colossus astride the world. After week two, it seems altogether more fallible and subject to the same laws of gravity that apply to every government and political leader. Whether that sense lasts is anyone's guess — so much can happen so quickly in politics, and it's entirely possible that in a month's time, we'll look back on this week as an anomalous moment in what is otherwise a series of political victories for Trump. … Something to watch next: Trump's 25 percent tariffs on Canada and Mexico are supposed to kick in tomorrow — more on that below.
But I'd be remiss if I didn't share that I've seen a noticeable shift in my conversations with Democrats over the last couple days. Suddenly, there's some faint whiff of the old Trump 1.0-era resistance magic in the air, and some (but definitely not all) of the intraparty quarreling that has raged since the November election has been supplanted by a new determination to paper over those differences and take on Trump. And yet …
IN THE WILDERNESS
ALL IN THE FAMILY: Tomorrow, members of the Democratic National Committee will descend on National Harbor, Maryland, to elect new leaders for their party. (Stay tuned tomorrow for a walk-up to the big vote, as frontrunners Ben Wikler and Ken Martin are locked in a neck-and-neck race.) Last night in Georgetown, at the final forum of candidates running for chair, the proceedings were 'derailed at numerous points by climate protesters — a reminder of the fractures still dividing a party reeling from its losses in November,' Elena Schneider and Brakkton Booker report.
Don't vote, boo: 'More than a dozen protesters, some affiliated with the Sunrise Movement, repeatedly stopped the DNC forum proceedings throughout the first 30 minutes. After five individual interruptions, six more protesters surged toward the stage, attempting to unfurl a banner, before they were forcibly removed. … Jason Paul, a longshot among the eight [chair] contenders, accused the protesters of 'hijack[ing] the whole evening' and turning 'this into scream night at the DNC.'' Not exactly encouraging from a party unity standpoint.
First in Playbook: Third Way is out with an open memo directed at all of the Democrats planning to run for president in 2028, centered around one simple plea: 'Reject the pledges.'
What does that really mean? 'We must never again let our candidates fall prey to the siren song of far-left groups who claim, without evidence, to speak for our coalition and offer a path to the nomination,' the memo reads, calling on would-be Democratic candidates to refuse to engage in interest group litmus tests, and unveiling a list of 'wrongheaded and unbelievably unpopular policies that far-left groups are trying to strongarm Democrats to embrace.'
From the memo: 'As Democrats sift through the rubble … there are still many open questions about why we find ourselves in the political wilderness. But one thing is a certainty if our party ever wants to defeat MAGA extremists and return to power. We must never again let our candidates fall prey to the siren song of far-left groups who claim, without evidence, to speak for our coalition and offer a path to the nomination. In fact, if we allow what happened in the 2019 primary to recur, we might as well save ourselves billions and countless hours of blood, sweat, and tears and just sit out the next election.' (Question: Is vowing to reject pledges itself a pledge?)
BEYOND THE BELTWAY
AMERICA FIRST'S BIG WEEKEND: The next few days will offer some crucial early tests of the Trump administration's swaggering approach to trade and expansionism on the world stage. And in at least one case, we're still in some suspense about what the White House will do. Trump vowed again yesterday that 25 percent tariffs are indeed coming tomorrow for Canada and Mexico, per Ari Hawkins and Doug Palmer, over frustrations about immigration, drugs and trade. He did note that he hasn't decided whether to exempt oil yet, per AP's Josh Boak.
But but but: Officials in Ottawa and Mexico City are surely reading with avidity last night's report from WSJ's Gavin Bade, Vipal Monga and Santiago Pérez suggesting that the situation remains rather more in flux than Trump indicated. White House aides are 'considering several offramps' to dial down the temperature, they report, including switching from universal to targeted tariffs, relying on legal authorities that already exist and/or delaying the start date. And whither Beijing? Trump had previously set Feb. 1 as the date for China to be hit with tariffs, too, but he was much more vague about it yesterday.
Man in the middle: Senate Majority Leader John Thune is in an awkward spot, as a reliable Trump ally whose home state of South Dakota stands to suffer significantly from a trade war, Meredith Lee Hill and Jordain Carney report this morning.
Marco Rubio takes the stage: Latin America policy is personal for the secretary of State, and crucial to the administration's immigration and China competition goals. But as Rubio travels to Central America and the Caribbean this weekend, he could face a frosty reception in Panama. Giving up the Panama Canal is 'impossible,' President José Raúl Mulino warned yesterday, per Gregory Svirnovskiy and Ali Bianco. 'I cannot negotiate … That's sealed.' But Rubio told Megyn Kelly that genuine national security concerns undergird Trump's threats to Panama and Greenland. 'This is not a joke,' Rubio said about the latter. 'This is not about acquiring land for the purpose of acquiring land.'
Immigration files: News broke late last night that acting Deputy AG Emil Bove 'told all 93 US attorneys he's recruiting their line prosecutors for border enforcement' and they should pick people to be sent to border districts, Bloomberg Law's Ben Penn scooped.
Around the world, Trump's crackdown is already having some of its desired effect. Would-be migrants from around the world who want to go to the U.S. are rethinking their plans, CNN's David Culver, Evelio Contreras, Jerry Simonson and Rachel Clarke find in Guatemala City. In the first Border Patrol embed of the new administration, ABC's Mireya Villarreal and James Scholz observe significant new U.S.-Mexico coordination at the border. At the same time, Mexico is being squeezed from both sides, WSJ's Santiago Pérez writes. And Reuters' Phil Stewart reports that Trump's high-profile military deportation flights are way costlier than the typical ones. More from the NYT and WaPo on deep fear among immigrants in the U.S.
Eighteen more months: 'Judge extends court-monitoring agreement for children in Customs and Border Protection custody,' by AP's Valerie Gonzalez
What retrenchment looks like: Even with more exemptions newly carved out, Trump's freeze on foreign aid has already had massive impacts on people around the globe. The halt to PEPFAR, for instance, caused an Eswatini clinic to close: 'I'm now thinking of dying,' one man tells NYT's John Eligon of losing access to lifesaving HIV medication. Major climate and energy programs have been thrown into chaos, Semafor's Tim McDonnell reports. And in Syria, there are fears for the stability of camps imprisoning tens of thousands of Islamic State fighters, NYT's Erika Solomon, Lara Jakes and Ben Hubbard report.
MUNICH, HERE WE COME: As the top brass of the defense and security world prepare to descend upon Bavaria for the Munich Security Conference (Feb. 14-16), POLITICO is announcing a first-of-its-kind inaugural partnership with the MSC — hosting the POLITICO Pub within the exclusive secure perimeter. Throughout the conference, the POLITICO Pub will be the go-to place to dine, network and meet our all-star POLITICO team, hosting interviews, fireside chats and briefings. Full details here
CONFIRMATION WATCH
THE EASY ONES: Doug Burgum sailed to confirmation as Interior secretary in a 79-18 Senate vote yesterday, per Ben Lefebvre. That positions Burgum to take the lead on Trump plans to expand oil drilling and fossil fuel production while undercutting wind energy. Also headed for that goal: Energy Secretary-designate Chris Wright, who cleared a procedural vote on the floor 62-35, per Kelsey Tamborrino. Doug Collins got even more support, advancing 83-13 toward becoming VA secretary.
The real action today: The week's high-profile confirmation hearings are over, so now Washington awaits tea leaves — or outright pronouncements — from key senators about the nominations of Kash Patel as FBI director, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as HHS secretary and Tulsi Gabbard as director of national intelligence.
Kash money: Patel seemed to do well with Republicans at a hearing that had less sparring than anticipated, Hailey Fuchs and Kyle Cheney report. Democrats struggled, sometimes repeating each other's questions, and '[e]fforts to create viral moments by casting Patel as an extremist fell flat.'
Kennedy center: At his second confirmation hearing yesterday, Kennedy again stumbled over the basics of Medicare and Medicaid, per CNBC, though anti-abortion groups emerged from this week more reassured by him than they started, Alice Miranda Ollstein reports. All eyes are on Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.), who has real issues with Kennedy's anti-vaccine history. Cassidy openly said he was 'struggling' with the nomination, and almost pleaded with Kennedy to make a clean break with his past false claims about vaccines, Chelsea Cirruzzo, Daniel Payne and Lauren Gardner report. But Kennedy wouldn't go there, saying he could meet with Cassidy and show him more info.
The gift of Gabbard: Is Gabbard's now the most imperiled nomination? She got a lot of hard questions from a lot of Republicans yesterday, John Sakellariadis reports. Sen. James Lankford (R-Okla.), who previously backed Gabbard, said afterward that 'there are a lot of questions' now. Sen. John Curtis (R-Utah) said the hearing had 'deepened my concerns about her [judgment].' And Sen. Todd Young (R-Ind.), who clashed with Gabbard over Edward Snowden, said that 'I've got — for now, at least — all the information I need.' On Fox News last night, Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) warned, 'I'm worried that her nomination may be in jeopardy.'
The latest hiccup: Gabbard said under oath that she didn't know until now about the views of Syrian cleric Ahmad Badreddin Hassoun, with whom she met in 2017 and who had threatened bombings in the U.S. But WaPo's Jon Swaine and Ellen Nakashima revealed last night that an aide told Gabbard about it shortly after the trip.
But but but: Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) sounded more upbeat than some of her colleagues, saying she was 'happy with [Gabbard's] responses,' while noting that she's still undecided and had missed part of the hearing to attend Kennedy's. And one source close to Gabbard texted Playbook last night that her team 'is feeling VERY good … The more time senators spend with T, the more they like her. Bobby has the opposite effect.'
BEST OF THE REST
MAGA'S HOT NEW HANGOUT: Trump world's movers and shakers have found their after-hours venue of choice: Butterworth's on Capitol Hill. Kara Voght gives it the WaPo Style section treatment in a rollicking read that just posted, featuring appearances from Scott Presler, Steve Bannon, Raheem Kassam, Curtis Yarvin and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.
THE PURGE, PART I: Several top FBI officials have been told they must leave the bureau or be fired by Monday, CNN's Evan Perez and Zachary Cohen scooped — and these weren't even people who worked on the Trump probes, which has unsettled staffers.
THE PURGE, PART II: The Trump administration is planning to boot one of the highest-ranking Biden holdovers left, CFPB Director Rohit Chopra, and perhaps fold his agency under the oversight of the Treasury Department or OMB, Bloomberg's Saleha Mohsin and Nancy Cook report. (He tells NYT's Stacy Cowley and Madeleine Ngo he'll keep serving as long as he can.)
AND SO ON … FCC Chair Brendan Carr launched a probe of NPR and PBS that could lay the groundwork for seeking to end their federal funding, NYT's Ben Mullin and David McCabe scooped. … Elon Musk visited the General Services Administration yesterday as he plans to target federal office buildings, NYT's Teddy Schleifer, Kate Conger and Madeleine Ngo report. … The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, which protects American elections, is still waiting for a new leader after sustaining GOP attacks, AP's Christina Cassidy reports. … Trump has again disbanded the President's Committee on the Arts and the Humanities, per NYT's Jennifer Schuessler and Julia Halperin.
FBI FILES: Sens. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) publicized whistleblower FBI documents that focus on an agent they've previously lambasted as anti-Trump, Timothy Thibault, who helped launch the investigation into Trump's efforts to overturn the 2020 election, per Fox News' Brooke Singman. But NYT's Alan Feuer and Adam Goldman report that 'in fact, the emails showed that F.B.I. investigators took normal bureaucratic steps and precautions when opening the extraordinarily sensitive inquiry.'
FIRST IN PLAYBOOK: In his first FEC filing of the 2026 cycle, Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-Ga.) begins his reelection campaign with $5 million cash on hand — a very strong showing as he heads into what is certain to be one of the nation's most competitive senate races. The COH number was buoyed by a strong showing in Q4 of 2024, when Ossoff's camp raised $2.17 million from more than 45,000 individual donors, with an average contribution of roughly $41 — a meaningful number as it suggests a base of grassroots supporters the campaign will be able to return to time and again as the race heats up.
ANOTHER ONE FOLDS? 'Paramount in Settlement Talks With Trump Over '60 Minutes' Lawsuit,' by NYT's Lauren Hirsch, James Stewart and Michael Grynbaum: '[L]egal experts dismissed the litigation as a far-fetched attempt to punish an out-of-favor news outlet. … [But] many executives at CBS's parent company, Paramount, believe that settling the lawsuit would increase the odds that the Trump administration does not block or delay their planned multibillion-dollar merger.'
STICKING TO THEIR GUNS: The conservative 5th Circuit Court of Appeals yesterday struck down the handgun sales ban for 18- to 20-year-olds, saying it violated the Second Amendment in light of the Supreme Court's 2022 Bruen ruling (and subsequent tweak). More from CNN
2026 WATCH: Former Rep. Mike Rogers plans to make a second go at winning an open Senate seat in Michigan, following the Republican's slim loss last fall, AP's Joey Cappelletti and Thomas Beaumont report. Meanwhile, DSCC Chair Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) said she's not afraid of wading into primaries to get better nominees — and she's especially high on Roy Cooper for North Carolina, Axios' Stephen Neukam and Hans Nichols scooped.
2028 WATCH: 'How Trump Could Defy the Constitution — or Find a Loophole — and Seize a Third Term,' by James Romoser in POLITICO Magazine: 'He could generate a movement to repeal the 22nd Amendment directly. He could exploit a little-noticed loophole in the amendment that might allow him to run for vice president and then immediately ascend back to the presidency. He could run for president again on the bet that a pliant Supreme Court won't stop him. Or he could simply refuse to leave — and put a formal end to America's democratic experiment.'
THE WEEKEND AHEAD
TV TONIGHT — PBS' 'Washington Week': Peter Baker, Mark Leibovich, Ali Vitali and Nancy Youssef.
SUNDAY SO FAR …
NBC 'Meet the Press': DHS Secretary Kristi Noem … Sen. Eric Schmitt (R-Mo.) … Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.). Panel: Stephanie Murphy, Ryan Nobles, Kelly O'Donnell and Marc Short.
FOX 'Fox News Sunday': Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.) … Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.). Panel: Josh Holmes, Josh Kraushaar, Mary Katharine Ham and Juan Williams. Sunday special: Cornel West and Robert George.
CBS 'Face the Nation': Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.).
NewsNation 'The Hill Sunday': Rep. Gabe Amo (D-R.I.). Panel: Dave Weigel, Molly Ball, Megan McArdle and Tia Mitchell.
MSNBC 'The Weekend': Mark Zaid … Tasha Adams.
CNN 'State of the Union': Panel: Rep. Yassamin Ansari (D-Ariz.), Jaime Herrera Beutler, Bakari Sellers and Brad Todd.
MSNBC 'The Sunday Show': Kelley Robinson.
CNN 'Inside Politics Sunday': Panel: Olivia Beavers, Jeff Mason, Jasmine Wright and Jeff Zeleny.
MSNBC 'Inside with Jen Psaki': Chris Hayes
TALK OF THE TOWN
Ketanji Brown Jackson says she uses boxing lessons to get out her Supreme Court frustrations.
Tina Smith hoofed it to catch the Senate subway.
Sam Bankman-Fried's law school professor parents have started to talk to people in Trump world about trying to get a pardon for their fraudster son.
Felicia Sonmez's discrimination lawsuit against WaPo was revived in a 2-1 D.C. Court of Appeals ruling, Josh Gerstein flags. Read it here.
IN MEMORIAM — 'Suzanne Massie, Reagan's Russian whisperer in Cold War, dies at 94,' by WaPo's Brian Murphy: 'The author and scholar briefed President Ronald Reagan on Russian history and Soviet life, including the Russian proverb 'Trust but verify' that entered the Cold War lexicon.'
SPOTTED: HHS Secretary-designate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. working out at Equinox in jeans and a T-shirt after his confirmation hearing Wednesday.
OUT AND ABOUT — The Hopkins Forum debate series from Open to Debate and the John Hopkins University Bloomberg Center launched Wednesday night with a debate about the future of the Supreme Court. John Donvan moderated, and Jeff Sessions, Jeff Flake, Cristina Rodríguez and Jamal Greene squared off in the debate. SPOTTED: Brittany Gibson and Gavin Bade, Frances Stead Sellers, Gabe Fleisher, Jane Mayer, Jose Pagliery, Rachel Oswald, Sarah Isgur, Stephanie Adler, John Banes, Edward Dunn, John Sarbanes, Judy Keen and Drew Lichtenberg.
— George Sifakis hosted the 2025 Ideagen Global Leadership Summit yesterday at Capitol Counsel with Sean Spicer, Bill Novelli, Martin Gold and Richard Sandler. SPOTTED: Rawle Andrews Jr., Gretchen O'Hara, Jennifer Jacobs, Marcus Smith II, Erica Parker, Siya Raj Purohit, Jane Oates, Nicole Hayre, John Raffaelli, Lyndon Boozer, Warren Tryon and Joe Eannello.
MEDIA MOVE — Peter Spiegel will be a managing editor at WaPo, overseeing its national and local coverage. He most recently was U.S. managing editor at the FT, and is an L.A. Times and WSJ alum.
TRANSITIONS — Phil Radford will be the next president and CEO of Consumer Reports. He previously was chief strategy officer at the Sierra Club. … Democracy Forward is adding Rachel Homer as director of Democracy 2025 and senior attorney, Mya Pak as deputy director for people, culture and operations, and Sarah Myhre as director of partnerships. … Homer most recently was chief of staff of the Office of the General Counsel at the Education Department. Pak most recently was director of people operations at Accountable.US. … Rachel Alexander is now a managing director at FGS Global. She previously was director of public policy and government affairs at Smith & Nephew. …
… House Budget Chair Jodey Arrington (R-Texas) has added Evan Dixon as comms director (joining from Citizens for Responsible Energy Solutions), Allison Dong as senior comms adviser (from Senate Aging/Sen. Mike Braun) and Carter Houtman as digital director (from Michigan campaigns). … The Congressional Hispanic Caucus is staffing up under Chair Adriano Espaillat (D-N.Y.). His former legislative director Monica Garay has been elevated to executive director of the group while Rubi Flores joins as policy director from FWD.us and Rafael Bernal joins as comms director from The Hill. … Joel Rubin has been named executive director of the Jewish Electorate Institute. He previously ran for Congress in Maryland.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY: National security adviser Mike Waltz … Reps. Bill Huizenga (R-Mich.), Melanie Stansbury (D-N.M.), Russell Fry (R-S.C.) (4-0) and Janelle Bynum (D-Ore.) (5-0) … Ali Zaidi … CNN's Clarissa Ward … Fox News' Martha MacCallum … Dylan Byers … David Plotz … former House Majority Leader Dick Gephardt … Nic Pottebaum … NYT's Katherine Miller … Chris Marklund … Barbara Slavin … Nathan Lewin … former Reps. Garret Graves (R-La.), Larry Kissell (D-N.C.), Dutch Ruppersberger (D-Md.) and Gwen Graham (D-Fla.) … David Thomas … NBC's Christine Romans and Sarah Blackwill … Sam Dorn … POLITICO's Angel Torres and Michael Doyle … Peter Sagal … Tim Naftali … USTR's Conor Harrington … Christopher Semenas … BGR Group's Erskine Wells … Tom O'Donnell … Fred Karger … Amos Friedland … Mikhail Zygar (44) … Lisa Duvall … Matthew Gottlieb … Kripa Sreepada of Sen. Ron Wyden's (D-Ore.) office and the Senate Finance Dems … Heather Riley … Rational 360's Jacqueline Thomas (3-0) … Tricia McLaughlin … Michael Kempner of MWW … David Karol
Did someone forward this email to you? Sign up here.
Send Playbookers tips to playbook@politico.com or text us at 202-556-3307. Playbook couldn't happen without our deputy editor Zack Stanton and Playbook Daily Briefing producer Callan Tansill-Suddath.
Corrections: Yesterday's Playbook misstated the name of the Progressive Change Institute and misquoted a memo released by the organization. It also misspelled Irie Sentner's name.
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Trump preps memo ordering colleges to hand over more admissions data
Trump preps memo ordering colleges to hand over more admissions data

Yahoo

time3 minutes ago

  • Yahoo

Trump preps memo ordering colleges to hand over more admissions data

President Donald Trump will sign a memorandum to expand requirements for colleges to report their admissions data, according to a senior White House official. The memo, which the president is expected to approve on Aug. 7, will direct Education Secretary Linda McMahon to revamp higher education data collection, broaden the scope of reporting requirements from the federal government and double down on punishments for schools that submit erroneous information. According to the White House, the action will ensure that colleges submit the data required to verify they aren't engaging in race-based admissions in the wake of a 2023 Supreme Court ruling outlawing the practice. Read more: At selective colleges, fewer students are disclosing race in their applications The Trump administration says the effort will also ultimately provide the public with a better understanding of the factors schools consider in the admissions process. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trump to order colleges to hand over more admissions data

He told Jan 6 rioters to ‘kill' cops. After Trump's pardon, he got hired at the Justice Department
He told Jan 6 rioters to ‘kill' cops. After Trump's pardon, he got hired at the Justice Department

Yahoo

time3 minutes ago

  • Yahoo

He told Jan 6 rioters to ‘kill' cops. After Trump's pardon, he got hired at the Justice Department

Jared Lane Wise was scheduled to go to trial 10 days before Donald Trump returned to the White House. Wise admitted to urging rioters to 'kill' law enforcement at the Capitol on January 6, 2021 and faced six counts in connection with the riots. The former FBI agent berated police as 'Nazis' and 'Gestapo' and testified that he would be 'morally justified' if he had assaulted them in defense of what he viewed as excessive force, according to court documents. Wise was pardoned by the president on his first day in office, along with nearly every rioter charged in connection with the assault. Now, he is working as a senior adviser in the Department of Justice, NPR has learned. 'Jared Wise is a valued member of the Department of Justice and we appreciate his contributions to our team,' according to a DOJ statement shared with The Independent by the White House. Trump's Justice Department moved to dismiss Wise's case on January 20, and the judge overseeing the case granted the request. Wise worked for the FBI from 2004 through 2017. By the time he joined the Jan 6, 2021 assault on Congress, as lawmakers convened to certify the results of the 2020 election, Wise was working as a consultant in Oregon. He had traveled to Washington, D.C., to support Trump, according to court filings. According to surveillance footage shared in court documents, Wise joined a mob that broke into the Capitol, and 'clapped his hands and raised his arms in triumph' as he walked into the Senate wing. Two hours later, he clashed with police officers outside the building. 'You guys are disgusting,' he said, according to footage from police-worn body cameras. 'I'm former law enforcement. You're disgusting. You are the Nazi. You are the Gestapo. … Shame on you! Shame on you! Shame on you!' As a group of rioters pushed against police and knocked at least one officer to the ground, Wise turned towards the violence and shouted 'f*** them' and 'kill 'em,' according to court filings. 'Kill 'em! Kill 'em! Kill 'em!' he shouted. In 2023, federal prosecutors obtained an indictment against Wise for civil disorder, disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds, and aiding and abetting an assault on law enforcement officers. He pleaded not guilty, and trial was scheduled for January 17, 2025. According to his testimony in court transcripts, Wise admitted what he said was 'terrible' and that he 'shouldn't say those things.' 'I think I was careless and used, like, terrible words when I was angry,' he said. He described his call to 'kill 'em' as an 'angry reaction." 'I don't want people to die,' he said. Wise did not assault police himself, though he said that he would have been 'morally justified' to do so if he saw what he believed was excessive force against rioters. His decision to enter the Capitol was 'irrational' and 'it was probably obvious' that he was not supposed to be there, he said. It's unclear what role Wise is performing at the DOJ, though messages obtained by NPR indicate that his title is senior adviser in the office of the deputy attorney general, and that he has been working on internal reviews of alleged 'weaponization' of law enforcement. The Independent has requested additional comment from the Justice Department. Trump has appointed right-wing activist Ed Martin — who served on a board providing financial support to Jan 6 defendants — as a pardon attorney and director of the administration's 'Weaponization Working Group.' Martin was serving as the acting U.S. attorney for Washington, D.C., before Trump pulled his nomination and brought in Fox News personality Jeannine Piro to serve as the capital's top prosecutor. Martin and Pirro succeeded Matthew Graves, who led the largest federal investigation in Justice Department history with the prosecution of more than 1,600 people in connection with the Jan 6 attack. The assault on the Capitol was fueled by Trump's ongoing false claim that the 2020 election was rigged against him. Trump issued 'full pardons' for virtually all Jan 6 rioters on the night of his inauguration. Trump's Attorney General Pam Bondi has also fired dozens of career prosecutors who worked on Jan 6 cases while the administration scrubs evidence and public statements about the attack from government websites. More than 1,000 defendants pleaded guilty to charges in connection with the attack, and more than 200 others were found guilty at trial — including 10 defendants who were found guilty of seditious conspiracy. The Trump administration has also agreed to pay $5 million to settle a wrongful death suit brought by the family of Ashli Babbitt, who was fatally shot by a Capitol police officer while trying to break into the House chambers.

Has Apple Cracked the Code on How to Avoid More Trump Tariffs?
Has Apple Cracked the Code on How to Avoid More Trump Tariffs?

Yahoo

time3 minutes ago

  • Yahoo

Has Apple Cracked the Code on How to Avoid More Trump Tariffs?

If there's a playbook companies can follow to avoid more tariffs, Apple (AAPL) may have found it. President Donald Trump said yesterday that the iPhone maker and other companies like it could be exempt from future semiconductor tariffs, based on its recent investments in U.S. manufacturing, in a major win for Apple after a tough start to the year dogged by worries about tariffs and its progress in AI. 'The good news for companies like Apple is if you're building in the United States or have committed to build—without question committed to build in the United States, there will be no charge,' Trump said yesterday, after Apple CEO Tim Cook joined the president at the White House to announce a $100 billion pledge to invest in U.S. manufacturing, adding to a $500 billion investment announced in February. The move will see Apple making more of its components domestically, though it stopped short of promising full-fledged production stateside, suggesting companies don't actually need to move all of their operation to the U.S. to win similar exemptions. Cook also isn't the only major tech CEO who's managed to score some concessions from the Trump administration after a high-profile visit to the White House. Nvidia (NVDA) CEO Jensen Huang, who reportedly met with Trump yesterday as well, has made a number of visits to the White House in the past few months, with some signs of success in winning Trump's favor. The chipmaker said last month that it's looking forward to obtaining approvals to resume sales of key AI chips to China, after Trump tightened export restrictions earlier this year, citing national security concerns. Shares of Apple climbed about 2% to more than $218 in recent trading, extending yesterday's 5% gain ahead of the company's announcement. Wall Street analysts widely cheered the move by Apple, with Bank of America analysts raising their target to $250 from $240, while JPMorgan analysts called Cook's moves a 'masterclass in managing geo-political uncertainty,' and reiterated their price target at $255. Wedbush analysts led by longtime Apple bull Dan Ives said it was a 'strategic poker move for Cook,' and maintained their Street-high target of $270. Read the original article on Investopedia Sign in to access your portfolio

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store